apple

Tethering coming soon to iPhone 3G?

Apple CEO Steve Jobs seems very responsive to customer e-mail these days.

Gizmodo has obtained another e-mail supposedly sent from Jobs' iPhone, claiming that Apple and AT&T want to officially bring "tethering" to the iPhone 3G.

Lots of other carriers and handset makers offer ways to wirelessly hook your laptop up to your smartphone, and use the data connection of the phone to get on the Internet. But Apple and AT&T scuttled one early iPhone application called NetShare that was designed to do just that.

One Gizmodo reader claims to have asked Jobs why … Read more

You don't really need an iPhone 3G

As an iPhone 3G owner since its launch, I've spent considerable time with Apple's latest entrant to the smartphone market. And although the first few weeks were stellar and I was absolutely delighted to have third-party apps and expand the scope of what this product could do, I've quickly realized that the iPhone 3G isn't best for everyone.

In fact, I honestly don't think anyone needs an iPhone 3G and would be better suited with a BlackBerry for smartphone needs. That said, the iPhone 3G is popular because people want it. And after a few weeks of using it, they realize quickly that they really didn't need it.

Let's face it -- do you really need to have an iPhone 3G? Any BlackBerry can check email, browse the Web, and let you download third-party apps. Granted, those apps may not be as "cool" as Apple's apps and RIM's devices don't have a touch-screen -- yet -- but we can't lose sight of the fact that the iPhone 3G does what practically every other smartphone on the market can do.

The only reason the iPhone 3G is popular today is because of its aesthetics. Sure, it has a lower price tag now and people are happy that they can load apps onto it, but it's a product that thrives because its design is unique and the manufacturer is Apple.… Read more

Working with Windows and Linux, playing with the Mac

I've noted before that we use the Mac because we want to, but are resigned to using Windows because we have to. Well, now there's some data to back up that assertion.

The Faces?rch blog did a quick review of when people search for the terms "Microsoft" (Blue), "Linux" (Red), and "Apple" (Orange), and found two interesting trends in the data, more easily viewed over the last 90 days:

First, Linux and Windows have declined as a trend since 2004, while Apple has boomed. Second, and more interestingly, Windows and Linux … Read more

Boxx fills in for a failing SGI

I miss the old SGI. Silicon Graphics was widely regarded as the greatest computer company in Silicon Valley back in the 1990s. Sometimes forgotten--but not gone--SGI was one of our greatest success stories and one of our greatest tragedies.

Apple may have had more revenue by virtue of shipping millions of small systems, but SGI's hardware spanned the range from video-game consoles (the Nintendo 64) to workstations to supercomputers. SGI's Unix-based operating system, IRIX, was one of the most sophisticated in the industry.

I used to lust over SGI machines. I'd obsess over lists of used SGI gear, looking for a great deal that would let me have my own IRIX box at home. In 2004, I finally bought an Octane with MXI graphics... but that was years after these machines were effectively obsolete, and I paid less than 0.5% (1/200th!) of the original retail price of the machine.

In the mid-to-late 1990s, SGI was not well managed, losing huge amounts of money because its leaders would not… Read more

Psystar countersues Apple on antitrust grounds

Mac clone maker Psystar officially responded to Apple's copyright infringement lawsuit on Thursday by filing a countersuit that alleges anticompetitive business practices.

As expected, the 54-page complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, charges Apple with restraint of trade, unfair competition, and other violations of antitrust law. Miami-based Psystar, owned by Rudy Pedraza, requests that the court find Apple's end-user license agreements (EULA) void and seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.

"The present litigation is more complex than the misinformed and mischaracterized allegations of copyright infringement," attorney Colby Springer, of … Read more

Apple to fix hole in password-protected iPhones

Apple plans to release a fix next month for a security hole that enables someone to access data on a password-protected iPhone, according to a MacWorld report.

The flaw lets anyone who gets ahold of the iPhone to circumvent the password protection and get access to e-mail, text, and voice messages.

"The minor iPhone security issue which surfaced this week is fixed in a software update which will be released in September," Apple spokeswoman Jennifer Bowcock wrote in an e-mail to Macworld.

Bowcock suggested that iPhone users set the device so that double-clicking the home button will take … Read more

Apple applies for touch-screen Mac patent

Rumors of Apple working on a touch-screen Mac have been circulating for years, and will only grow with the revelation that the company is hoping to patent similar technology.

A number of Mac sites on Thursday are pointing to a U.S. patent application granted for what would appear to be the mythical Mac tablet. AppleInsider has a description of the device discussed in the application, which appears to bring a lot of the iPhone's multitouch functionality to a slate-like tablet computer.

Given Apple' focus on multitouch user interfaces over the past year, there has been a fair amount … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 798: There is no poop, so leave the diamonds alone

It's a tortured analogy sort of day, including some confusing stuff about water and water bottles and then a whole long thing about a sandbox, poop, and dirty diamonds. You'll love it. In the actual news today, the IE8 beta arrives (has it solved the malicious cross-scripting problem!?), and several judges seem to have actually visited the Internet. And so did Aaron Sorkin! And he liked it! Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 798

IE 8 beta gives other browsers a run for their money http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-10027345-83.html http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7585741.stm… Read more

The 404 173: Where we wish Natali Del Conte a happy 21st birthday

Happy 21st birthday, Natali. We hope you're having a great time out there on the best, err...West Coast! Even though Jeff is mad at me for not getting Morgan Spurlock on the show, we squash the beef and get going on a great show. Today we talk about magic noodles, the Facebook movie, and Steve Jobs' impending death. We also debut the best set of voicemails ever played on The 404. No hype!

I can't stop reiterating this sentence in my head: Morgan Spurlock served me ice cream cake on a boat in New York city last … Read more